Design for Manufacturing Lead - New Glenn Payload Accommodation

Application close date:

At Blue Origin, we envision millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. We’re working to develop reusable, safe, and low-cost space vehicles and systems within a culture of safety, collaboration, and inclusion. Join our team of problem solvers as we add new chapters to the history of spaceflight! 

As the Manufacturing Technology Lead for the Payload Accommodation Development (PA-Dev) program, you will be directly embedded within the engineering design team — not in a support or advisory capacity, but as a core member of the design organization influencing decisions in real time. You will spearhead efforts to optimize designs for high-volume production, cost efficiency, and payload fairing reusability. This position requires expertise in advanced manufacturing technologies, high-rate production, and design for reuse to drive meaningful design improvements that reduce production costs, simplify assembly and refurbishment processes, enable higher production rates, and extend hardware service life across multiple flights while maintaining or enhancing performance and reliability.

• Serve as the manufacturing technology authority embedded directly in the PA-Dev engineering team, participating in daily design decisions, trade studies, and technical reviews as a peer to design engineers

• Lead cross-functional DFx team activities to identify design optimization opportunities focused on manufacturing cost reduction, production scalability, and reusability

• Develop and implement DFx guidelines, standards, and processes specifically tailored for the PA-Dev program and payload fairing reuse

• Conduct detailed design reviews with manufacturing, production, and recovery operations teams to ensure designs are optimized for efficient production and multi-flight service

• Perform cost modeling and analysis to identify high-cost components and processes, proposing design alternatives that maintain performance while reducing per-flight costs through reuse

• Develop design criteria for payload fairing recovery and reuse, including saltwater exposure tolerance, inspection accessibility, refurbishment processes, and recertification requirements

• Define manufacturing and material requirements that enable fairing structures to withstand repeated water landing loads, marine environment exposure, and handling during ship-based recovery operations

• Collaborate with recovery operations teams to ensure fairing designs accommodate efficient retrieval from water, shipboard handling, transport, and turnaround processing

• Collaborate with suppliers to optimize component designs for manufacturability, cost, and durability across multiple service cycles

• Implement value engineering techniques to identify and eliminate unnecessary features or processes that add cost without proportional value, while ensuring reuse-critical features are preserved

• Lead production rate analysis to identify bottlenecks and develop design improvements that enable higher throughput, incorporating refurbishment lines alongside new-build production

• Drive design standardization and part count reduction initiatives to streamline manufacturing, assembly, and refurbishment processes

• Oversee engineering adoption of Model-Based Definition (MBD), ensuring 3D product definitions are authoritative and integrated with downstream operations systems including MRP, and production planning tools

• Integrate lessons learned from current production and fairing recovery operations to drive continuous improvement in design practices

• Develop metrics and reporting systems to track DFx performance, cost reduction achievements, and reuse turnaround efficiency

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Manufacturing, or Industrial Engineering

• 10+ years of experience in manufacturing, production, or design engineering roles

• 8+ years of experience applying DFx methodologies in aerospace or similar high-complexity industries

• Demonstrated experience working embedded within engineering design teams, influencing design decisions directly rather than through after-the-fact review

• Demonstrated experience in cost analysis, value engineering, and design optimization

• Familiarity with modern manufacturing technologies and processes relevant to aerospace structures and propulsion systems

• Strong understanding of engineering design processes, CAD/CAM systems, and PLM tools

• Experience with production rate modeling and manufacturing system design

• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills

• Ability to influence senior technical decision-makers and drive change across organizational boundaries

• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum

• Advanced degree in Engineering, Manufacturing Systems, or related field

• 10+ years of experience in aerospace manufacturing or production engineering

• Systems engineering background with experience in requirements flowdown, interface management, and integration across design, manufacturing, and operations domains

• Direct experience with liquid rocket engine design, manufacturing, or testing

• Direct experience with design for reuse, refurbishment, or multi-mission hardware lifecycle management

• Experience with composite structures, marine environment durability, or corrosion-resistant design for hardware exposed to saltwater recovery

• Experience implementing Model-Based Definition (MBD) and integrating engineering data with MRP/ERP systems

• Direct experience with high-rate manufacturing of low-cost products, such as automotive or consumer products

• Experience with Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or other continuous improvement methodologies

• Knowledge of advanced manufacturing technologies such as additive manufacturing, automated welding, automated fiber placement, and precision machining as applied to aerospace structures and propulsion systems

• Experience with design optimization software and simulation tools (e.g., FEA for reuse load cases, rigid body dynamics for recovery analysis)

• Background in supplier development and manufacturing technology transfer

• Project management experience with demonstrated cost reduction achievements

• Experience with production cost modeling and analysis tools

• Certification in DFMA (Design for Manufacturing and Assembly) or similar

Base Pay Range for:

Don’t meet all desired requirements? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single desired qualification. At Blue Origin, we are dedicated to building an authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every desired qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.